My list of things to do in the entire basement before inspection and drywall are pretty much home theater related. I finally have almost everything else done. It seemed like every time I crossed one thing off the list, I found 3 more things that needed to be done. Once the soffits are in place, I need to.build backer boxes for the recessed lights, run outlets and wall sconces connections, and then some video cables and QS8 speaker wires. Really, the soffits and backer boxes are the biggies. Everything else will go quick.

Assuming that I keep my pre-order of the JVC projector that I want (and not jump to something else), I have until early December to have the room functional minus the screen since I will want to experiment. After Drywall, I get to install all of the outlets, switches, doors, and some other fixtures like ceiling fan in the bedroom, built in wall heater in the bathroom, etc. I also get to tile the bathroom so that the plumber can set the toilet and vanity. I will probably tile just inside the sliding door maybe 2 rows of 12"x12" tile.

Then I will go back to the theater to work up my stage and riser. Once those are done, we will send in the carpet people to get something nice and soft put in. I will then have to put in shelves and closet organizers in the bedroom closet, bathroom closet, and our "game" closet for our German board games.

Then back to the home theater for equipment rack build and movie storage area and build the false front wall with screen.

Oh, and I need to paint the whole basement, put in the home theater lights, put up crown molding for the rope lights, attach my fiber optic star ceiling, and probably a dozen other things. The last whole basement thing will be the base board trim unless I decide to do that before carpet. The very last thing will be the construction of the wet bar. It is more for holding the popcorn machine and cold drinks, so it will be a back burner project for a while.

Lots to do, but the big hurdles, in my opinion, are the pre-drywall ones.

For me the hurdles are the finishing touches - that's where I get lazy. 2 years later i still have 2 closet doors to paint, baseboards and properly run my subwoofer cable (which must be done before baseboards). The problem is the room looks mostly finished and I like to enjoy my theater more than I want to move all the furniture to do the above tasks! My hats off to you who finish all details before sitting down to enjoy.

We are having a big party when the basement is "done" and it is supposed to happen in 2011 still, so I will have to keep plugging away for a while.

It is amazing how much time was lost over some key holiday weekends. We went out of town for the 4th of July (U.S. holiday where you blow stuff up). I took a vacation day too, so it was a 4 day weekend. Not 1 minute was in the basement. Labor Day weekend, same thing. Out of town for a 4 day weekend. If I could have put in a chunk of time on those weekends, I estimate that I would have been about 4-6 WEEKS ahead of where I am now, just because many nights I only have 2 hours to spend down there working.

So I've been a little slowed down again dealing with yet another driving incident with my daughter. Take 1 part Dukes of Hazard, 1 part Knight Rider, 1 part minivan, and 1 part 17 year old daughter. Shake well, and you get a nice big headache and a bunch of work. This was on Monday, but we are still dealing with things... Let me tell you this, minivans are NOT meant to go up a ramp on the passenger side and ride solely on the two driver side wheels. True story. Surprised that the thing didn't flip on its side.

Anyway, I did manage to assemble the final soffit tonight, but by the time I got all 46 pieces (again, no joke) of lumber put together, and the wall and ceiling marker for installation, my helpers were all in bed. No, I can't do it myself. The soffit is one big piece now that is 26 feet long. Good thing I ripped those 2x4s in half with my table saw. Weight wise isn't bad, just way too long to successfully manage. At least I am ready to roll for Thursday!